Friends Too Difficult To Trust
by writingraconteur
Summary: Leia and Mara have trouble getting along, and Luke sends them off on a diplomatic trip on a faraway world. Worse, the locals plead them to help dispatch a group of leftover stormtroopers. Everything seems okay until they uncover a clue that might mean the end of the fragile Alliance! Can the two Jedi get along enough to save what they have worked for? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.: This is a new story in a new field of writing that I have not ventured into before.**

**DISCLAIMER: Before you read, please know that I have NOT READ THE ALL THE EU BOOKS. (Who has, anyways?) This is AU, that means that this does not match up with the books. If you are a diehard EU fan, then please leave, because none of this would make sense to you. Sorry, but please enjoy if you can without gouging your eyeballs out.**

**(Oh, and don't sue me please, Lucas, I don't own SW!)**

**Friends Too Difficult to Trust**

**A Fanfiction by Cinquain**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Look out!" I screamed. Mara Jade Skywalker ducked as a flying assailant nearly put her head off with a vicious looking sword. I did not need to worry, however, because she easily sliced the beast in two in midair with her bright violet lightsaber.

"Ugh," she muttered, kicking the corpse disgustedly. I walked over and we both stared down at the bat-like creature.

"What is that?" I asked, wrinkling a nose at the also-vicious smell. Mara shrugged, sending a wave down her medium-length red hair.

"Some kinda hairy kamikaze bat thing," she responded, and I wondered for the fiftieth time how I got onto this crazy planet.

Well.

It all started with a skirmish.

"We need your diplomatic skills, Leia," Luke had pleaded.

"And Mara's coming too?" I said a bit scathingly.

"Aw, come on," Luke snapped a bit irritably now. I grinned, triumphant that I finally found a weak spot on him. Nowadays it was nearly impossible to tease him, being a Jedi and all. _I_ should know. I'm his sister.

"Mara-mara-mara-doo," I giggled, poking him. He blushed with a look that simultaneously showed bashfulness, frustration, amusement, and affection.

"Yeah?" Mara sauntered in, throwing an arm around Luke's shoulders and smooching him quickly on the cheek. I felt tempted to make a face, but that would be hypocritical. Unnumbered times I had publicly kissed Han. Luke didn't do anything too conspicuous other than blush.

"Just talking about how much I need you apparently." I say sourly.

"Farmboy is right," Mara scoffed. "How many times have you needed my aide?" I rolled my eyes.

"Really," Luke said in his Jedi-Master disapproving voice. "Can't you guys get along? You're Masters here."

"I think it's funny." eleven year old Jaina giggled from behind me. She gave me a quick hug. "I'm gonna be outside with Anakin." she said, waving one of the Youngling lightsabers.

"Okay. Be easy on him, kay?" I call.

"He doesn't _need_ easy, mom." she called over her shoulder, and Mara nodded appreciatively.

"Isn't a mother supposed to know their children?" Mara asked innocently. I felt murderous at that point.

"Enough," Luke said, a small smile on his own face. "Go and get ready. The stay is all arranged and I'll let you know where it is later." I scowled, stomping out the Jedi Temple.

And now, for some crazy reason, we were stomping around in a hot, humid jungle.

We had just finished the negotiations successfully without much fight. Mara was very disappointed, and I was relieved. At least, until they asked us to settle a 'little' problem with a group of local stormtroopers. Mara immediately said yes. I was reluctant.

"Why did I agree to this?" Mara grumbled alongside me. I pursed my lips.

"Get over it," I snapped, slashing a branch away with my knife blade.

"And with of all people, too," she added under her breath. We took a Force jump across a stream and climbed over a fallen log.

"Thanks," I reply sourly.

We tromped on in cold silence until something caught my attention.

"Stop," I hissed, my arm snapping across Mara's front. She jolted into it, cursing.

"What?" she growled, tossing her flame red hair.

"Somebody's there," I said in a low voice. Mara snapped back to her cold professionalism, her emerald green eyes narrowing as she reached out with the Force. I did the same.

_Stormer,_ I sent telepathically. She gave a slight nod. I slowly removed my blaster from its holster and clicked the safety lock off. I took careful aim from between the undergrowth and fired.

There was a small explosion, typical of a fatal stormtrooper shot. We waited for a moment to make sure and stepped into the clearing. The stormer was pushed into the base of a tree, his chest armor blackened.

"Well. Now we just follow his comm signal back to the rest of 'em." Mara picked the comm off of the stormtrooper's waist.

"Wait a moment," I used my knife and carefully sliced off a small waistpack. Mara walked over.

"What's that?" she asked. I opened the magnetic clasp and reached in carefully. My fingers met something sharp.

"Crap," I drew my hand out quickly, hissing through my teeth. Blood sprung from the cut, but I healed it quickly with the Force.

"Careful," Mara said. She took the pack and turned it upside down.

A black piece of extremely sharp metal fell to the ground. It was basically a short blade with a curved edge on two sides and blunt on the other two. There was a little hole in the short, blunt end where you would probably stick a handle in. We crouched down, looking at it warily.

"Is your finger okay?" she asked. I nodded.

"There's nothing on it." I pinched it between my thumb and forefinger, sliding it carefully back into the case. I tucked it into my pocket.

Meanwhile, Mara had turned on the comm and was tracing the signal.

"That way," she pointed down a crude path. I hesitated before unclipping my lightsaber, hefting it in my hand. Mara had already taken hers off and was grasping it securely, her thumb ready to flip the switch. I switched the blaster's safety lock back on and holstered it securely before proceeding.

We walked quietly, toe-to-heel. My companion went first, her face steely and calm. She slowed to a stop, beckoning me, and I squeezed in beside her next to an old musty tree. The path ended to a clearing, where a few old Empire-grade shelters were erected. Three of them were visible, one of them with their helmet off and eating while the others were keeping watch. Both Mara and I knew by the use of the Force that there were twelve more in the shelters.

_What's the plan?_ I asked her through the Force.

_Stormtroopers are stupid,_ Mara responded. _And look; the rest of them are sleeping._ I immediately knew what she was at.

_Distraction,_ I nodded. _ I'll be the one. Perch up in the tree, the rest'll be easy._

_Don't make it loud. Use your lightsaber._ Mara added, and we set off.

I threaded through the leafy trees, searching for a good one to climb. I finally spotted a dark mossy green one with many, knotted branches. I pressed my lips together in concentration before taking a large leap up a branch. I landed with a small _swish_ of the leaves and immediately ducked, heart thumping. Nobody came. Listening carefully, I traveled a bit farther up the branch until I was well covered by a clump of light leaves.

_Ready,_ Mara sent to me. _And stop getting so excited. I can hear your heart from here._

_What am I supposed to do, stop it?_ I gritted my teeth.

_Just go!_

Using the Force, I lifted a fairly large rock and sent it flying at a large tree trunk.

"What was that?" I could hear their voices. There was rustling and the two stormtroopers stumbled into the clearing. I held the hilt of my saber tightly, and leapt.

* * *

**Well? My first attempt at action writing.**

**Whataya think?**

**Review or no chapter. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.: **

**Nothing terribly screwed up happens to the Solo children in this world, btw.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, I obviously don't own Star Wars.**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

I flipped in midair as I activated the red blade, slicing off their heads quickly and efficiently with a quick horizontal-circular motion.

_Showoff._ Mara sent coolly. I heard screams as I dashed back to the clearing, where Mara was furiously slashing down the troopers with expert swings. I jumped into the melee as the first few blaster shots rang out. I blocked the lasers, sending them back into the senders with quick accuracy. Dodging some more shots, I made my way across the field to Mara as she finished off the last one with a swipe of violet.

"Gosh, that felt good," Mara said with a satisfied, cold grin. I couldn't help smiling too.

"Luke would be so happy," I commented dryly as we searched the camp. "We managed to make a fight together, and not against each other." There was nothing more than normal survival-packs, cots, the usual of a lingering unit. We stared grimly down at the dead men, who did not have any armor on.

"Makes it a lot harder to kill them if they don't have those masks, huh?" Mara almost sighed.

"Don't tell Han," I said, raising the chin of one of the troopers. "But these look like they might actually been good looking when they were younger." The man had graying hair and a lined face, but there was the shadow of a handsome man in them.

"They each have these little packs," I frowned. I sliced each of them off while my companion did the same.

"In here," I dumped out a canvas bag filled with emergency supplies and we filled it with the cases. We continued our search, finding nothing else particularly important in the shelters.

"Done?" I called to Mara. There was no reply. "Mara!"

"Come here," her voice came from one of the shelters. I ducked inside.

"What?" I asked. She stood beside a crate of food. "Just a box."

"Not just a box." she said. I stood over it, and finally understood what she meant. I Force-pushed it away, revealing a small hatch. We exchanged grim looks before climbing down the metal rungs.

It went on and on until it stopped at a small underground room. The walls were gray metal, slick and shining. We could barely see anything.

"Switch your lightsaber on," Mara instructed, and I did so, the ruby-red blade bursting to life with a small sputter. I gasped.

There, on the far wall, was a floor to ceiling, sophisticated and state of the art Imperial Communications Unit. Lights blinked and shone, reels turned behind glass and the antennae revolved slowly, searching for a signal. Over all of this were a constant faint humming and the strong smell of Imperial tape reels and electronics.

"What tipped you off?" I asked, examining it warily.

"The smell," she said. "You know what it is?"

"An ICU. A fairly new one, by the look of it."

"How do you know?" she sounded surprised, and as I would know, the few times I caught her off guard.

"Had one installed at the palace back home when I was eight," I said, peering into a drawer that was filled with new recording needles, still in their packaging. "The handyman was pretty patient with all those questions."

I did not ask how Mara knew it. She was previously the Emperor's Hand before a Jedi, and would obviously recognize the machine immediately.

"It's definitely still working," she muttered. "Look, there are ten used reels filled with transmissions." Sure enough, there were, stacked neatly in a larger drawer. I picked one up and turned it over in my hands, examining it with the Force. There was no label.

"Should we play it?" I asked.

"All of it?" Mara said disbelievingly. "If I am right, each of these tapes are worth about two years of transmissions. They record empty information, too."

"So we should take them back to the Temple and have them checked at the labs." I decided.

"One problem," she said, raising a hand. "How are we going to bring these?"

"Flag down a larger ship," I suggested.

"These may contain important information, Leia," Mara said. "If we lose it, we may lose an important clue to finishing off the rest of them."

"Then we call an Alliance ship. They take it and we fly away in our y-wings."

Mara paused, thinking over the details. "Fine, then. I'll make the call and you take the tapes."

Mara began twiddling her comm as I dug the tapes out of the drawer. I stacked them in two piles, five each, and took one in my arms. I was vainly trying to balance it when it levitated out of my hands.

"Thanks," I said. "I'm not the best at Force-levitation."

"Uh huh," she said, tucking her comm back in her pocket. I hid a confused scowl. Did she acknowledge my thanks, or was she agreeing with me that I was terrible at levitating?

There was not a difficulty with climbing up the ladder, the reels floating almost lazily behind us. I took the lead as we slashed our way through the jungle, and we took turns on levitating the reels when we had to use the Force to cross streams and over logs.

Finally, we reached the main city, heavily contrasted from the wildness we exited just a moment ago. I left to check out of the local hotel as Mara dropped the tapes at the newly arrived Alliance shuttle.

"Have a good day, Senator Organa Solo," chirped the boy at the counter, who looked not much older than my own Jacen at home. I nodded with a small smile and left a tip on the counter.

As I walked down the street, I observed the townspeople. It was Market Saturday, I suppose, because stalls were lined up on the streets, faded awnings and shouts of marketpeople. An old woman recognized me and hobbled eagerly up to me.

"Are they gone, mam?" she asked, dark eyes shining.

"Yes, they're all dead," I assured her.

"Thank you, thank you," she said, shaking my hand. She left a bright, beautifully ripe pomegranate in my palm.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," I said, trying to hand the gift back, but she only shook her head with a toothless smile.

"Look! It is the Senator who has banished the Stormtroopers!" she called joyfully. Soon I was covered with many generous gifts from all of the people; fresh and perfect produce, good meat, coins, valuable trinkets, and even a pet canary. Somebody handed me an icebox to keep the food.

"Thank you, thank you," I said, deeply touched.

Unfortunately, I had completely forgot about Mara.

"Where in the Seven Hells of Corellia have you been?" she spat. Then she saw what I was half lugging, half levitating. "And what is that stuff?"

"Gifts from the townsfolk, of course," I said in a devious smile. "Sorry you missed the parade."

"Humph." Mara tossed her red hair. 'If you wanna get those things on the shuttle, you'd better do it now." The crew was doing the last all around checks. I did so, quickly dropping them off. I was about to climb into my Y-wing when a young boy came trotting up to me. His eyes were shifty, and he looked terrified.

"Please take this, Senator," and I realized it was the boy from the hotel. He handed me a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied up with twine.

"What is this?" I asked in puzzlement.

"Just take it, please," he said desperately. "Thank you!" he called as he dashed off.

"Who was that?" Mara walked over and peered over my shoulder.

"The boy from the hotel gave it to me." I said. "It's not dangerous." I somehow knew this, perhaps by intuition, perhaps by involuntary mind-reading. She shrugged.

"Whatever. Open it later, we need to get going."

"Sure." I placed it in my pocket, where it rapped against the pack I had picked up from the stormtrooper before. Pulling on my flight helmet, I vaulted into my Y-wing and started up the engines. "Set the coordinates for Coruscant, Artoo," I said, and an affirmative tweet responded.

I switched on my comm unit and Mara's voice came over. "Hear me?"

"Loud and clear," I said, and we raised up and out of the spaceport.

* * *

**Reviews are very appreciated. Sometimes I don't even start writing until I get one. ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.:**

**Nothing terribly screwed up happens to the Solo children in this world, btw.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, I obviously don't own Star Wars.**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

We touched down on Coruscant and took a taxi back to the Jedi Temple. Luke was waiting for us at the entrance.

"Hey farmboy," Mara said affectionately, giving him a quick kiss. The usual wonder of where Han was crossed my mind. But it was not the time for loving welcome-backs.

"Han's at the lab," Luke said, as if he read my mind. Correction: he probably did.

"Okay," I said. "Did they get started already?"

"No. He's just helping them unload the reels and the rest of the gifts." Luke grinned. "Looks like you're pretty amicable after all."

"Don't forget, I'm still the Ice Princess around here," I reprimanded dryly. Mara blinked questioningly, and Luke laughed at the memories.

"Tell you later," Luke said, taking her hand. "We have a job to do."

We walked the short way to the labs.

"Princess," Han called from the doors. I trotted up the stairs and fell into his arms.

"I missed you," I said softly, even though I was away for two nights.

"Well, you're back!" He twirled me around once and kissed me.

Okay, maybe it was the time for loving welcome-backs.

"See how much more _romantic_ his greeting was?" Mara poked at Luke playfully. They had reached the final step by now. "Why can't you do _that_ for me?" Luke blushed, and I giggled quietly.

"Because he's still always the little blushing farmboy kid from Tatooine." Han put in, and Mara smiled.

"And the serious, embarrassed Jedi Master." I added.

"Why do they know you better than I do?" she demanded, half-kidding. "What other secrets have you kept from me?"

"Nothing, Mara-love," Luke said earnestly. "They're lying."

"Oh sure," Mara rolled her eyes, but she couldn't suppress a smile.

"Annnyways," I drew the word out so they would stop flirting with each other. Luke turned pink again, but Mara shot me a look. "We've got work, remember?"

* * *

We soon were standing in the spotless, clinically clean lab and watching the students running through the tapes with determined looks on their faces. Their professor sat before us, explaining what they were doing.

"...and is the fastest, most technological way to scan this long string of information."he finished. A young woman trotted up to him, clipboard in hand.

"The scan is finished, nothing abnormal or dangerous was found in the search of Her Highness's gifts."

"You searched my gifts?" I said, frowning.

"We left everything intact," the man assured me, and I nodded, still a bit ruffled.

"Thanks." I said reluctantly.

"Sir," piped up one of the students perched on the bar-like seats. He swiveled around. "We finally found some recordings."

"Ah, good," chirped the short, rolly-polly like man. "Play it back, loud and clear."

The man punched the button and the machine crackled to life. "Unit A942, do you read?"

"Yes, this is Unit A942," said a clear, stormtrooper voice.

"The planet Alderaan has been destroyed with the Death Star." My heart skipped a beat and Han laid a hand on my shoulder. It just reminded me of Darth Vader standing behind me as I watched my home planet being destroyed. My breath caught in my throat and Han hugged me fiercely.

"Search your planet for any refugees, citizens of Alderaan that were not on the planet when it was obliterated. Torture and threaten if you must to find them. And then kill them all."

My stomach churned and my eyes stung. All of this...was my fault?

I had just read the surface of the drop, how it had bent and warped the surface of the clear pool of peace. Not only had I caused Alderaan's destruction and led them back to the Rebel base, but the ensuing ripples had ripped up communities and families all over!

I thought I was at the peak of my emotion when I realized who's voice it was.

My memories sucked me back to the time when I entered the Senate as a Senator of Alderaan.

And I had to meet Palpatine.

His voice now spoke to me through the terrible machine in the lab.

And I took in how terrible this must have been for Luke, too. The one who was electrocuted by this maniac. The one who killed...his father.

My father.

My adoptive father, Bail.

My world.

And now countless other communities and families.

It was all too much, and my knees gave way, the lab spinning before my eyes before it turned black.

* * *

Han must have caught me, because I was not sprawled on the floor when I came to.

"You passed out for a few seconds," he said concernedly. "You okay?"

"I just realized.." I said faintly, stumbling as I held onto Han. I shook it off, gathering my strength and composure. I finally looked to Luke, who did not look like he took the shock any better than I did. A sheen of sweat was on his forehead, and he was deathly pale. We exchanged wan looks.

"Luke, he's dead, he's dead," Mara comforted him, her arms wrapped around him. I remembered once again that Mara was the Emperor's Hand. Not surprisingly, she didn't react like we did.

"Who's dead?" Han asked confusedly.

"Palpatine. That was his voice," Luke said shakily. A dawn of realization passed over his face and he patted Luke on the back awkwardly.

"Well, then," rasped the Professor, and we jumped, completely forgetting about him and the lab. He had completely lost chunks of his composure, and he was sweaty and pale, rather like Luke. "We'll keep you all updated on what we find through comm."

I nodded mutely.

"Thank you," Mara said, speaking for the rest of us who were rendered speechless because of shock (Luke and I), fear (Luke and I), horror (Luke and I, again), and disbelief (Han). She then gently led us out of the building and down the steps.

"Really," she spoke finally, a smirk on her face. "All three of you still need mothering?"

"O-of course not!" I was, typically, the first one to fire up. "Come on, Han." I said shakily, taking my husband's hand and trying to guide him away. "We need to pick up the gifts." Han managed to regain his own voice.

"Thanks for making sure she didn't die out there!" he called over his shoulder. I slapped him sharply on the arm, and he winced.

* * *

Later, I was undressing for the night when the bulky contents of my pocket clanked against my thigh, reminding me of their existence.

"Oops," I pulled out the case and the package and set it down on the nearby vanity.

"What's that?" Han asked from the bed. I tossed them to him, guiding the objects with the Force so they landed at his hands, folded on top of the sheets.

"There's a blade in that one." I warned as he opened the magnetic close on the leather case. He heeded my warnings and shook it open over the sheets. Out fell the black, 4 inch, dagger-like knife-without-a-handle. He tested the edge and whistled.

"That is one sharp knife," Han said, slotting it back in its safe place. He closed it firmly and picked up the package. "Is this another gift?"

"I don't know about that one," I said, having finished dressing into a light, green gown. I sat down beside him, kicking my legs under the blankets before taking the neatly wrapped parcel of brown paper. It was about two by five inches, and I could tell that it was wrapped over a box.

I pulled the loose strand on the twine and unfolded the paper. I pried the top open and removed the thin protective layers of Styrofoam.

"Huh." Han picked up the item, holding it up to the light and rubbing it with a finger. It was a silver key.

"Recognize it?"

"No." He set it down, inspecting the end of the key where the key went into the lock. He turned it so it was pointing in his direction and rubbed the end.

"Want some water?" I asked, reaching over the bedside table and grabbing the half-full bottle of water.

"Hey," he said. "Look at this."

I screwed the cap back on the bottle and wiped the water from my lips as I leaned over. He indicated the end of the key, which was not the usual type of notches and dips key, but had a rather flat, three-dimensional end that was some type of design. I peered closer and realized it was the symbol of the Empire.

"Huh," I took it from him and rubbed its length, testing for any secrets, but there were none. Slightly discouraged but still determined, I placed it carefully back in its box and placed it on the bedside table. "I'll have it checked out at the Archives tomorrow."

"Wonder what it'd open," Han remarked as we both burrowed under the covers. I reached over and pulled the chain of the lamp, extinguishing its warm yellow light.

"Maybe a secret Imperial base."

"Or a machine."

"Or the heart of the Empire."

"I wish I had a key to open _your_ heart," Han said to me, the faint lights peeking through the curtains of our windows reflecting off his hazel eyes. His hand snaked under the covers and a finger gently pressed the spot above my heart.

"You don't need one," I whisper with a smile. "You already have."

* * *

**A.N.: I have literally just figured out that there is a traffic stats page here. Now I see the ocean of unnamed viewers.**

**What I say to all of you:**

**REVIEW!**

**Or else...heh-heh-heh. (evil grin)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.:**

**Fourth chapter, hooray.**

**Thanks for reading everybody.**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_Follow, follow,_

_the great gray hawk,_

_he will guide us,_

_so just keep the soar._

_()_

_Down the valleys_

_and up the mountains,_

_to the Isle that all long for._

_()_

_Keep on flying, keep on working,_

_we're almost there,_

_the very spot where he will stand,_

_proud and dark and fearsome is he._

_The Head Dark Falcon of our legions is he._

_()_

_He will see each of us_

_and call us with new names,_

_he will release us one-by-one_

_to open our wings._

_()_

_Look, we're almost there,_

_the Islamadine,_

_Oh glory is a-fair,_

_and mercy of his Greatness himself._

_()_

_We will step into the nest,_

_step with caution._

_By then we will be true,_

_grown and trained._

_()_

_Far and farther and farthest,_

_Remote and impossible._

_It cycles in perfect beauty._

_It is perfect beauty._

_()_

_We have trained and we have grown,_

_for this very trip,_

_into this secret homeland_

_where we have been born._

_()_

_But until then, just keep flying,_

_until we reach Islamadine._

The song awakened in Leia's memory through a dream, foggy and long gone. It was a children's song, from her years when she escaped the Alderaan Select Academy for Young Ladies, before she knew what was good for her and she went wandering with the boys to talk to the stormtroopers that marched around the palace.

"Hi," she said boldly, for she had been dared by the boys. She stared up curiously at the white-armored man.

"Hello little girl," He crouched down to be eye to helmet with her. By now the other children had lost their discretion and popped out from behind columns. One, two, three, four.

"Did you work very hard to be a stormtrooper?" six year old Leia asked, her brown eyes wide and adorable. The man took off his helmet to reveal a smile in a light-skinned face, his grizzled gray and brown hair cropped into a military hairstyle. He looked at the children.

"Yeah. It was harder for me than the rest of them because I volunteered." he gestured to the others, standing straight at attention.

"Oh," the young princess stuck out her lower lip, thinking about something for a moment. "Did you start when you were a kid?"

"They did," he nodded to the other troopers again. "Not me. I still got in, though."

"Did they...play games?" she asked quietly.

"Nope. They worked real hard. But they taught me a little tune that they used to sing. Sometimes they still chant it."

"Could you teach it to us, sir?" one of the boys asked, and for his name, Leia forgot it a long time ago.

"Sure," he opened his mouth and the most wonderful voice drifted into the air, singing that song about the Islamadine. Leia had listened, spellbound, and immediately asked for it again when he stopped.

He finished the second time and Leia had already memorized everything.

"You're a good singer, mister," said another friend. The stormtrooper threw back his head, laughing heartily.

"Maybe I should have become a singer instead of a 'trooper." he remarked, half joking, but Leia had taken it literally.

"Yes, you should have," she said seriously. "Why did you want to become a stormtrooper?"

"Because it's fun to shoot blasters!" shouted one of the boys excitedly, miming blasting down invisible targets.

"I suppose," the man chuckled. "But because the rebels had killed my family."

There was a thick silence.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir," Leia laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. The stormtrooper smiled.

"I still have lots to be thankful for," he said jovially. "You know, my Illiana would have been as old as you right now."

"It was good to meet you, sir," the children said, perhaps a bit dissonant from each other. Newfound respect for this brave, righteous man glinted in their eyes.

"See you five around again, I think," he flashed them one last grin before pulling his helmet back over his face and standing up, maybe a bit slacker than the others.

And that little memory of the friendly stormtrooper stayed with Leia every time she saw one, and when she entered the Rebel Alliance. It continued every time she shot a trooper, that little voice in the back of her head that asked her a question.

"Was that him? Was he another, innocent man fighting for his late family?"

It made her confused and sick. Made her feel like she was the Emperor, orchestrating each death like a note in a symphony.

But eventually she forced herself to forget it.

Until now.

* * *

Leia and Han sat in their living room surrounded by boxes and presents and an ice box and a canary.

"Oh, she is so beautiful," Leia cooed, petting the little songbird through the bars of the cage. It burst forth with a short, sweet melody.

"She'll make a stinking mess," Han added. He popped the lid open on the icebox and peered in. "Wow. This food could last us a whole week, maybe even more."

"They were so kind, all of them," Leia sighed. She set the cage down gently and picked up a wrapped parcel, a card tied to the top of it. She undid the twine and slit the envelope open.

_The Island of Eranyem._

It read in long, loopy handwriting. She squinted, puzzled, before setting it down and opening the squat, wide parcel.

In it was a low-tech datapad. The princess switched it on, wondering why they would give it to her when an image flashed on.

More like hieroglyphics. Three lines of small symbols appeared in black and white on the screen.

"Look at that," she remarked to her husband.

"Probably just a thank you in their native language."

"Yes, but then why was there a card?" She showed him the blank piece of paper otherwise written with those four words.

"I dunno," Han was more interested in a small box of chocolates that he was trying to open. "Darn cellotape."

"Give it," Leia said exasperatedly, using her nail to slit the seal.

"Life is always good with a walking drawer of knives as your wife," Han said cheerfully before popping a square of chocolate in his mouth. "Mmm."

Leia poked him.

"Ow!" he mumbled indignantly.

She ignored him, packing up a few things in her purse.

"I'm going to the Archives to have the key and stuff checked out," she stood up, brushing her pants off. "Did you find anything else?"

"Mmmph," Han handed her a chocolate, nodding enthusiastically. Leia rolled her eyes but couldn't hold back a smile as she accepted the truffle.

"Thanks. I'll be back soon. Pick up the kids at three." she closed the door behind her, walking down the hallway. She pulled out her comm, checking for emails when she accidentally ran right into somebody who was stepping out of their room.

"Oh, so sorry," Leia looked up to see her brother, Luke. She noted that he was holding a comm, too.

"It's okay," He assured her. "Where are you going? Did you get the email?"

"What email?" Leia asked, looking down at her comm again. Sure enough, there was an email named: 'Reels Finished Scouring' from 'Prof. R.'.

"Are you going?"

She stared into her brother's blue eyes. There was a hard determination. She grit her teeth and nodded. If Luke could do it, being almost killed by the Sith, then certainly Leia could do it. And the items could wait.

"Yeah."

There was a short silence as both of them stepped down the hall.

"What were you about to do, before?"

"Huh?" Leia started, lost in her own dark thoughts. "Oh. I had some stuff I wanted to check out at the Archives."

"Can I see?"

"Sure."

She opened her purse and handed him the box with the key, rooting around for the others.

"This is the Imperial symbol," Luke muttered.

She handed Luke the datapad, the card, and the leather case for the key.

There was a speculative silence as Luke inspected the datapad and the card. Leia reached forwards and pressed the elevator door, for they were finally at the end of the hall.

"This is a Dark Item!" Luke exclaimed suddenly, making Leia jump. He was holding the blade up in the air by it's blunt part.

"What?" Leia said, confused. They were standing alone in the elevator.

"Can't you feel it?"

She reached out, and realized that it was indeed surrounded by a dark aura.

"I found it on a stormtrooper," Leia muttered.

"You've got to be careful," her brother reprimanded her as he quickly placed the blade back into the case. "Put up a Force shield right now, like I showed you."

"Already did," she smirked. She was particularly adept at shields, and she even had done it unconsciously when she had met and been interrogated by Darth Vader. "By the by, where's Mara?"

"She should have gotten the message too. She went early to the Jedi Temple." He handed his sister the items, and she placed them back securely in her purse.

"And what were you doing, Mr. Master Jedi Luke?" she poked at him with a smile.

"Sorting out some blueprints for the new addition to the Temple." he pursed his lips as they stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. "Remember the shields-"

"I know." Leia rolled her eyes.

"And what were you doing this morning? Actually, I don't really want to find out if in involves Han and you in the same room."

"Luke!" she said in a fake-horrified voice. "I was actually unwrapping the presents from the townsfolk."

"Hah. Mara was all over that last night," Luke blurted before clamping his mouth shut, a horrified look on his face at the growing mischievous grin on Leia's face. "Oh no."

"Oh _yes,_" she laughed, before patting him comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Luke. Nothing too terrible lies in your future."

They were now walking out in the sunlight, having passed through the lobby. They got a taxi and directed the driver to the Laboratories.

Mara was already there.

"Hey," she said, and Leia caught a flash of nervousness in her voice. "They found something that you might want to know about."

* * *

**A.N.: Well, well, well. What could it be?**

**Reviews to find out, hmm? :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.:**

**This chapter is a bit queer.**

**Anyways, here you go. Sorry about the wait X(**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

They played through the parts that they had found. The first few were just updates on what had happened. The Rebel's destroying the Death Star. Evacuation of Hoth. Capture of Captain Han Solo and Leia Organa. Etc, etc. Then, of course, there was silence for a long time after the Emperor's death. Then, about a year after, there was a message.

"Troopgroup23, do you read?" An unfamiliar voice spoke clearly from the speaker.

"Troopgroup?" Mara scoffed, but was still listening intently.

"Loud and clear."

"The Emperor has died. The reign of Marl has started."

_Marl? _I wracked my brain. Why was that name so familiar?

And there were a few other messages in an odd lingo that Luke and I, or even Mara did not understand.

Then...the last message played, from only three days ago. A word caught my attention.

"Wait," I snapped at the students sitting at the machine. "Play that one again." They obliged, pressing a few buttons.

"Troopgroups, report to Islamadine's Pit in a fortnight for a fledging flight search."

The message was a lot more crackly than the others, but there was no mistaking that word.

_Islamadine._ I was absolutely sure I had heard that word somewhere before. And the use of fledgling...like a baby bird.

"What, what is it?" Luke immediately sensed my confusion.

"It's just..." I creased my brow, trying desperately to remember. One sentence at a time, the song returned to my mind.

"Spit it out already," Mara said impatiently, but I was barely aware of anybody else at this point.

"He will release us one by one, to open our wings..." I mumbled. "But then, just keep flying until we reach Isla-ma-dine." I sang the last four words softly in the tune that the stormtrooper had taught me, so long ago. "The song."

"What song?" Mara asked, staring with an intensity that startled me. _She knows something about this too._

I sang the whole song, haltingly at first, but soon each word came to my mouth and slipped out like silk.

There was a quiet moment when I finished. I could feel their eyes on me but I ignored them for a moment, my eyes closed, standing on my toes like a bird before flight.

And then my eyes flew open to see Luke stagger from a sudden huge amount of darkness. There was an aura of the Dark Side in this room. All three of us sensed it at the same time, and we all exchanged alarmed looks.

"The blade, it must be the blade." Luke said in a low, cautious voice. The leather container suddenly tore away from my purse, floating before me. My breath caught in my throat with horror. It opened of its own accord and the case dropped, leaving the terrible weapon. It hovered there, and the blade began floating towards me.

"Oh my goodness, oh gods, oh gods," I breathed under her breath, staggering back in fright. _So this is how it's going to end._ My back hit the wall and the glinting black knife blade continued it lazy descent down on me.

"No!" Luke growled suddenly, and a small glint of hope rose in my chest. He reached out with the Force, trying to pull it backwards and away from me. His tries did nothing, and it steadily approached me.

"Oh, oh," I whimpered, the Dark aura subduing me into a terrified victim. Luke stood, unable to do anything as the pure evilness choking him down into a helpless spectator of my imminent death. _It's okay. You tried._

And there was a flash of violet and a familiar hum. The blade was knocked to the ground by the blade of light, but to the bewilderment of all of us, it was not broken.

In the short moment of refuge I bolted away, my hand finding my own lightsaber as I watched the blade rise with a dark fury and embed itself into the wall, three inches deep. If I had lingered for another fraction of a second it would have pierced me right through the heart.

"Watch them gather, one by one!" Mara shouted suddenly, making us all jump. "Beneath your mighty talons. Call which shall serve and which shall live, which shall fight and which shall die!"

The blade froze, as if listening.

"The moment of truth, at Islamadine!"

It began floating towards Mara, who did not seem remotely worried.

"No," Luke choked out, beginning to run to her side. I felt his panic, and I found I was worried about her too.

"Stop, Luke," she said calmly as she held out an open palm. It landed gently on her hand, apparently lifeless again. She bent over, picking up the leather case from the ground and placing it in. She reached out to me with the case, and I stared at it warily.

"It's fine," she said softly in a gentle voice that surprised me. A gentle Mara? Her green eyes met mine and gave a small, subtle nod. I took it dubiously, clipping my lightsaber back onto my waist.

"What the hell happened?" Han blurted from behind, and I started. I had a feeling that both Luke and Mara had also forgotten about his presence.

"It's a Dark Object," Luke said, his face in his hands in sudden fatigue. Just then I realized that there was only four of us in this lab.

"Where'd the rest of them go?" I asked weakly.

"They took a run for it." Han said, stepping close to me and wrapping his arms around me. I returned the hug gratefully and he rocked me back and forth for a moment.

"Are you okay, Leia?" Luke's voice roused me from my quiet, short bliss of Han's shelter. We parted.

"A bit shaken up, but no injuries," I said, trying my best at a brisk voice. I patted my shirt down, fidgeting nervously.

"Okay then. We'd better get this checked right away and we can discuss what just happened." Luke kept a constant eye on me as we assured the lab occupants, who were now standing outside, that everything was okay. We left to the Archives and they took it under their custody, telling us that they would place it in a high-security vault.

* * *

"Explanation time," Han said as we sat down in my living room. Mara, Luke, and I exchanged quizzical looks.

"Well, Leia, you go first," Mara said, sitting back on one of my armchairs. "I'm still not quite sure what happened either." Her emerald gaze burned right through me with a knowing glare.

"Um, okay then," I said. "Mara and I were on that two night diplomacy mission when the townsfolk found out we were Jedi and begged us to dispatch a old group of Stormtroopers. Apparently they were constantly giving them grief. We...well, Mara agreed anyways, to help, and we killed them all. But we kept finding these packs on the stormtroopers. Say," I paused in confusion. "What happened to that big sack?"

"What sack?" Han frowned, then his eyes widened in realization. "The brown burlap? Oh no. I thought it was a shipment that got mixed up with your stuff...the shippers didn't offer it to me..."

"It's all right, Han," I said uneasily, but Mara voiced my silent thoughts.

"No, it isn't. I think I know what this is all about now." She got to her feet. "We need to find that sack, before it assembles!"

"What assembles?" Luke asked, frowning.

"The Last Resort." Mara covered her face in dismay. "Oh no, oh no."

By now we were all in different stages of panic. If Mara Jade was in dismay and was mumbling into her hands, the rest of the galaxy had to be screaming like wild animals in terror.

"Wait, wait," Luke said quickly. "Let's figure out the rest of this before we go running around on a wild goose chase." He gestured to his wife to sit, and she plopped back down, her green eyes frantic.

"Where was that song from, Leia?" Han asked.

"A long time ago. I was only six, and I was playing around. I met a friendly stormtrooper who taught it to me and told me that the young troopers-to-be chanted it while working. And then the tape mentioned a word in the song and I remembered it..."

"Okay, and then the blade awakened." Luke said, pressing his lips together.

"I know that song too," I whipped my head around to Mara who was looking at me, her eyes squinting at me in thought.

"And you stopped it with another verse. One that I don't know." I said slowly.

"A verse known only to the Emperor and his Hand." she finished. "But it's too late now. The sack of parts, wherever it is, it's awake. It's starting to put itself together."

"Into what?"

My comm blipped loudly and I pulled it out to find a message from Mon Mothma.

**Turn on the Holo right now, on channel 5.**

I stood up, taking the remote from the kaffe table and switching the screen on. It was already set to Channel 5, the InterGalactic Broadcast.

On the screen was a fuzzy video of burning shards flying to some familiar treetops. A male reporter was chattering on frantically while subtitles in several different dialects rolled along at the bottom of the screen.

"The New Republic freighter set to deliver important medical supplies to Kashyyyk has somehow imploded from the inside out, and is now falling in shards to the ground. Oh!" he shouted, and we realized that it was live broadcasting. "What is that?" A robotic beast of somekind first thought to be a piece of twisted metal suddenly opened its metal wings and began hovering. "It's alive!" It shot a few blaster bolt and the sound of screaming Wookie cries.

We stood in horrified silence, watching the endless slaughter on the screen.

* * *

**A.N.: Oh no!**

**What happens?**

**(Review to find out, of course!)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N.: Thanks for sticking with me.**

**Been a hard period of writers block.**

**Oh, and by the way, the writing may slow down as school starts up again. X( Bear with me, all.**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Leia sat quietly on a roughly-hewn stool, staring down vacantly at the bowl of broth steaming in her cupped hands. The old man came hobbling into the room, clutching a worn scrapbook of sorts, stiff cards of paper fastened together with frayed twine. He mumbled something to a younger man standing in the shadows. He nodded, stepping forwards as he picked up a few logs and piled them in the center of the large fireplace. Mara watched the man with piercing green eyes as he gave a subtle move of his hands. She could feel the ripple in the Force as the dry tinder burst into orange flames. The boy suddenly looked up, meeting the Jedi's gaze, and she started. His gray eyes hid secrets that no boy of his age should know.

Their host cleared his throat, pulling out a pair of crude spectacles and perching them delicately on his nose.

"Okay," he rumbled, turning the cover over carefully. Leia looked up, taking a small sip of the hot, savory liquid. "Information, information..."

"About the creature, Palpatine, the Empire, anything that may be of help," she said quickly, unable to keep the tone of desperation out of my voice.

The man's tan face looked up at up with a small amused grin, eyes twinkling. It was obvious he could hear the impatience in my words.

"Patience, young Padawan," he said lowly, and both women caught his gaze with a start.

"I'm not a Padawan," Leia said flatly. "I'm a Jedi Master."

"Yes, yes, I know," he chuckled.

"Padawan?" Mara questioned sharply. "Where did you hear that?" He only gave us a wink as he looked back down at his book. We exchanged uneasy looks. Our host was awfully secretive.

"Ah yes, here," he mumbled. He looked up again, his face suddenly serious. "What I am holding is my journal, the one I kept since I was only eleven." He paused for a moment, considering his choice of words. "When I became a Padawan."

"You're a member of the Old Republic's Jedi?" Mara said, her eyes narrow and calculating.

"Of course, dear," he waved it away casually. "Now...Jedi Knights were busy slaying this cyborg, capable of handling many lightsabers. I was a Master at the time, but did not participate in the hunt. Two men, I believe was named Kenobi and Skywalker-"

"Kenobi and Skywalker?" Leia said quickly. "You knew them?"

"Oh yes, good young lads they were," he chuckled. "Anyhow, it was reported that General Grievious was shot in the heart by Obi Wan Kenobi. But before he died, there were reports of unusual shipments under his ship's name. It was quietly suspected, by even Master Yoda himself, that he might be constructing a creature similar to his own. The Jedi were unfortunately already on high alert, what with the Old Republic crashing down and all, and only I, now about forty-three at the time, and my Padawan, who was twenty, went to dispatch this danger.

"We spent weeks searching, and finally we spotted it. By then Grievious was dead and it turned out that it was released. We found it and confronted it in a deserted hangar on a distant world. We dueled, but it was incredibly strong. Combined with the efforts of helper droids that rolled away from the main body, we were defeated, my Padawan killed. I fled. I heard no more of it.

"That is, until another fifty years later. A woman found out of my existence as a Force-user. She contacted me and somehow I found myself a spy for the Rebellion."

"A Force sensitive spy?" Leia snapped, her brow wrinkled. "How was it that I did not hear of this?"

"Completely confidential," the small man responded. "I was not even given the woman's name, only how much I would receive for successfully completing this mission, and what I was to be doing. Now that I look back, I believe that the woman was the well-known Mon Mothma.

"Mon Mothma," Mara frowned. "Really..."

"You doubt me," the man said, his gaze turning on the young woman, who returned it steadily. "Search me. I tell the truth."

* * *

**A.N.: Hmm.**

**Review or else no chapter. :D**


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